"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) "Chance Favors the Prepared Mind": Report Finds that Students in the Highest-Achieving States Score As Well…

Middle school transitions can cause a decline in academic achievement and motivation in learning for many students. Low income underrepresented students are especially vulnerable to this transition. Parental involvement also tends to decrease during the middle school years. This qualitative study examined the elementary to middle school transition…

The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation developed and sponsored the Middle Grades Initiative (MGI), which began in 1989, in five urban school systems: (1) Baltimore (Maryland); (2) Louisville (Kentucky); (3) Milwaukee (Wisconsin); (4) Oakland (California); and (5) San Diego (California). The purpose of MGI was to change the ways schools educate young,…

This book argues that many U.S. children are at risk because of poverty, drug and alcohol abuse, poor health, illiteracy, racial prejudice, and the eruption of unprecedented levels of violence both in inner cities and across the country. It provides a comprehensive overview of the crises young children and adolescents face and the decisions that…

This paper reports on a study examining preservice teachers' level of comfort in working with students and colleagues of a different race, and exploring the effects of special training and field experience on their level of comfort with multicultural situations. The study involved 55 predominantly white preservice teachers enrolled in 2 different…

This study examined kindergarten teachers' perceptions regarding the change in schedule from an everyday, half-day program to an alternating day, full-day program. Subjects included 37 female teachers in a small midwestern city who had almost completed the first year of the changed schedule. Results from a mail survey revealed teacher concerns,…

Over the last decade there have been a number of approaches for recruiting minorities to enter teaching careers. One such program has been that of the Consortium for Minorities in Teaching Careers (CMTC). CMTC uses several replicable models to encourage minority high school students' interest in teaching careers. At all CMTC sites, the following…

This report presents an evaluation of Florida's College Reach-Out Program (CROP) and data on the 1991-92 cohort of institutions and students which the program serves. CROP is a state-wide program designed to increase the number of students successfully completing postsecondary education by providing disadvantaged students in grades 6 through 12…

The assessment and placement of language minority students remain among the most serious problems facing schools today. As of 1990, 14 percent of the school-aged population in the United States comes from language minority backgrounds. Significant numbers of these students are not being properly identified by educators. Assessment procedures in a…

An ethnographic study was conducted of the first year of implementation of the Accelerated Schools Project in a pilot middle school. The interaction between intervention and the existing school culture is studied through multiple interviews with teachers, support staff, administrators, students, and parents as well as observation and review of…

Students in poverty areas still perform poorly on achievement tests, have high dropout rates, and are not receiving the kind of assistance they need. This paper reports the educational experiences and needs of middle school students in poverty. Specific topics include: (1) the distribution of middle school students in poverty by social background,…

This report presents findings of a 1991 survey of 3,573 adolescents in Area Learning Centers and Alternative Schools, in Corrections and Detention Centers, and in Residential Treatment Centers in Minnesota. The study focused on six environmental stressors: family alcohol problems, family drug problems, experiencing or witnessing physical abuse,…

Through its efforts in 12 middle schools in 5 cities, The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation's Program for Disadvantaged Youth is trying to challenge the assumption that certain children are uneducable. The first steps in this program were detailed in "Gaining Ground," which described the thoughts and hopes of educators in 1989 through 1991…

This guide was developed to define the role and responsibilities of basic skills instructors in Missouri. The manual contains basic information that should serve as a guide to basic skills instructors as they work with disadvantaged and handicapped students in vocational education programs. It attempts to identify the major concerns of basic…

This collaborative project between Camden Public School District and Glassboro State College in Camden, New Jersey, sought to plan, develop, implement, and evaluate a program to enhance self-esteem, academic achievement, and college entrance of economically disadvantaged minority urban youth (Black and Hispanic). Special emphasis was given to the…